SNP to launch ‘biggest independence campaign’ since 2014 referendum

The SNP said an independence survey would be delivered to an estimated 1.5 million people (Lesley Martin/PA)PA ArchiveCraig Meighan3 minutes agoNews Briefings

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The SNP will launch the biggest pro-independence campaign since the 2014 referendum, John Swinney has announced.

The First Minister said the Choose Scotland campaign will kick off during the party’s conference in Aberdeen this weekend.

The launch is part of the SNP’s £100,000 “hearts and minds” campaign to win over voters and would be “anchored” by a new, pro-independence, party political broadcast.

The party said it will deliver an independence survey to nearly 1.5 million people and that Choose Scotland would be its biggest ever online ad campaign outside of an election.

It will run from now until Christmas with a “national day of action” on St Andrews Day that will see SNP activists delivering leaflets across the country.

First Minister John Swinney said he will build on the ‘momentum’ of his election win (Jane Barlow/PA)PA ArchiveThe First Minister said: “As we approach conference, the wind is in the sails of the SNP and the Yes movement – we have been emphatically re-elected, we have the biggest, pro-independence majority in the history of the Parliament, independence is in the lead, the momentum behind constitutional change across these islands is building and there is a growing consensus we have the right to decide our own future.

“Our task is to build on that momentum which is why, at this conference, we will be launching the Choose Scotland campaign – the biggest campaign since the referendum and what will be the most sophisticated, pro-independence campaign Scotland has ever seen.

“We will be inviting people in Scotland to choose a better future, where we make our own decisions; to choose using our energy wealth to bring down bills; to choose re-joining the EU in our own right; to choose a future where our pensioners aren’t short-changed to pay for personal care in England; and all of that comes with choosing the fresh start of independence.”